Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Tuesday (July 23)
Your Daily & Trustworthy Updates on the Chinese Economy
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Good Tuesday! This is TIAN in Shandong in east China for summer vacation.
Welcome to monitor the pulse of China’s economy together with me.
DRIVING THE DAY, China's annual expenditure on education totaled 906 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, marking an increase of 5.3 percent from 2022, the Ministry of Education said.
Spending on compulsory education totaled 2.84 trillion yuan in 2023, accounting for the greatest share of the overall expenditure, followed by spending on higher education at 1.76 trillion yuan, according to the statement.
Spending on preschool and high school education came in at 538.2 billion yuan and 1.02 trillion yuan, respectively.
Spending on higher education saw the fastest year-on-year growth in 2023, rising 7.6 percent.
Year-on-year increases in spending on preschool, compulsory and senior high school education came in at 4.7 percent, 6 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively.
Kindergartens saw the fastest per student expenditure growth last year, increasing 8.8 percent year on year.
Expenditure figures for primary schools, junior high schools, senior high schools, vocational schools and universities all increased from the year prior, with respective growth rates of 4.3 percent, 2.7 percent, 3.8 percent, 0.7 percent and 3.9 percent reported.
MEANWHILE, China has seen 307 million railway passenger trips between July 1, the start of the summer travel rush, and July 22, data from the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. showed.
The company said the figure marks an increase of 6.5 percent from the same period last year. It added that the average daily number of railway passenger trips reached nearly 13.98 million in the first 22 days of July.
The demand for student travel during summer vacation, tourism and family visits is strong, keeping railway passenger flow at a high level, according to the company.
The summer travel rush is usually a busy season for the country's railway system as college students return home for the summer vacation, while family visits and tourist trips also increase during the season. This year's summer travel rush lasts from July 1 to August 31.
ALSO ON TUESDAY, the number of 5G base stations in China had risen to nearly 3.92 million by the end of June, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.
The figure represented a net increase of 540,000 5G base stations over the end of last year, and accounted for 33 percent of the total number of mobile base stations nationwide, according to the data.
The number of 5G mobile subscribers in the country increased by 105 million from the end of last year to reach 927 million as of the end of June this year.
The figure accounted for 52.4 percent of the total mobile subscribers in China's three major telecommunication enterprises and China Broadnet, which stood at nearly 1.78 billion by the end of June, the data showed.
The aforementioned three telecommunication operators are China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Shanghai Composite Index Fell 1.65% on Tuesday
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (000001.SH) lost 1.65% on Tuesday, while the Shenzhen Component Index (399001.SZ) fell 2.97%.
Shanghai’s tech-heavy STAR 50 Index (000688.SH) lost 4.11% for the day, while Shenzhen’s similar ChiNext Index (399006.SZ) fell 3.04%.
China's benchmark interbank gold prices higher Tuesday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 562.8 yuan (about 78.9 U.S. dollars) per gram, 0.03 yuan higher than the previous trading day.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above went up 1.42 yuan from the previous trading day to 563.32 yuan.
Chinese yuan strengthens to 7.1334 against USD Tuesday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 1 pip to 7.1334 against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
China's central bank conducts reverse repos Tuesday
China's central bank conducted 267.3 billion yuan (about 37.5 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.7 percent Tuesday.
The move aims to keep liquidity reasonable and ample in the banking system, the central bank said.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closes 0.94 pct lower
Hong Kong's stock market ended lower on Tuesday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 0.94 percent to close at 17,469.36 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.95 percent to end at 6,194.69 points, the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 1.82 percent to close at 3,545.09 points.
AT THE END OF TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES:
Cotton futures closed lower Tuesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for September 2024 delivery lost 95 yuan (about 13.32 U.S. dollars) to close at 14,530 yuan per tonne.
On Tuesday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 379,502.0 lots with a turnover of 27.66 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed lower Tuesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for September 2024 delivery lost 23 yuan (3.22 U.S. dollars) to close at 6,069 yuan per tonne.
On Tuesday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 282,943.0 lots with a turnover of 17.05 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed lower on Tuesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active iron ore contract for September 2024 delivery dipped 27.5 yuan (about 3.86 U.S. dollars) to close at 774.5 yuan per tonne.
On Tuesday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 527,455 lots, with a turnover of about 41.17 billion yuan.
No. 1 soybean futures closed higher on Tuesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active No. 1 soybean contract for September 2024 delivery gained 22 yuan (about 3 U.S. dollars) to close at 4,538 yuan per tonne.
On Tuesday, the total trading volume of six listed No. 1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 113,165 lots, with a turnover of about 5.12 billion yuan.
About the Newsletter:
Ran by TIAN Dongdong, this newsletter features daily, trustworthy content on China's economy and regularly updates the insights of Chinese youth on Sino-US relations. Having worked in Brussels, London, Cairo, and Tripoli for Chinese media as correspondent for several years, TIAN is now based in Beijing.